Rose’s Original Crabshrooms

A crab meat stuffed mushroom crab appetizer recipe

Submitted by Rose Scott

This recipe was the winner of the holiday Recipe of the Week contest sponsored by The Crab Place.

• one half small yellow onion

• 2 8-oz packages washed button mushrooms

• 1 Tbsp fresh peeled minced garlic

• 1 8-oz tub of Philly’s Light Cream Cheese

• 1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 Tbsp butter

• 1 heaping tsp. dry sweet basil

• 1 half cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 pound backfin crab meat

Prepare the mushrooms by plucking out the stems, leaving the caps intact. The stems can be ground into a paste and used in the stuffing.

Steam the caps in the microwave for 2-4 minutes.

Drain the excess liquid from the caps. Line up the caps on a cookie tray and set aside in the fridge.

Dice the onion into very small cubes.

In a small saucepan, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium heat. When the onion becomes clear, add the garlic. Saute for a bit more.

Add the cream cheese. Stir the ingredients over the heat to soften the cheese and get a smooth texture. It helps to add the butter a little at a time.

Toss the basil into the grated cheese. Once the saucepan mixture is smooth like onion dip, slowly add the grated cheeses, over a minute or two, while stirring. If it starts to clump, stir harder adding the remaining butter. Once the last cheese has been added, fold in the crab meat.

Drain any remaining excess liquid from the mushroom caps.

Spoon the stuffing generously into the caps. It should be fluffy not pressed. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until the top of the stuffing turns golden brown.

After 15 minutes place the tray in the broiler to speed the browning process. Once the tops are golden, remove the mushrooms from the oven and let them cool a bit. Serve hot.